


Hero

by ohmyjosh83



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Different Powers, Angst and Fluff and Smut, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:22:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26357167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmyjosh83/pseuds/ohmyjosh83
Summary: A single event changes the world as we know it.But how will Eddie take advantage of the changes to carve out a spot in LA for he and his son. When everyone is special, how to you rise up above the rest?Maybe with the people you surround yourself with. A new family? A new love?The world is different now. Is it better? That's to be decided.
Relationships: Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

Hero

Chapter 1  
How it all started

July 9th 2017 was just another day. The sun rose like it always did. People did what they always did, went about their days like they always had. Children played, parents got up to head to work or spent their morning wrangling their kids into what they had planned. The same things they did every other day. Then it happened, at exactly 10:25 am EST a flash of light engulfed the entire planet. If you were indoors it would probably even go unnoticed. It was so brief and fleeting, but its effects would be felt forever. To this day, no one knows where it came from. Scientists have made plenty of theories, but none have been able to be proven or even disproven. What is known is that it changed people. On the cellular level people everywhere had been altered. People soon after began to gain abilities. Eventually, everyone on earth had some form of an ability. 

With the abilities soon being documented by the governments of the world, patterns were noticed, and classifications were assigned. Everyone fell into one of five classifications. Over time people started giving nicknames to the five types.

Wers: Animal Like characteristics, feral, heightened senses, strength, agility, and stamina.  
Benders: Psychic in nature, abilities harnessed from the mind.  
Chrones: Chronal abilities, able to manipulate time.  
Emos: Psionic ability to manipulate a specific emotion in others.  
Mentals: Ability to manipulate and harness a specific element of nature.

There have been rumors of people out there that have been known to display two classifications, but it seems that if that is true it is a rarity. 

With everyone on earth showing some form of an ability, Not everyone’s ability is powerful and immense, but some are. As expected crime escalated, and accidents surged. The governments pleaded with their citizens to answer the call of civil service if they believed their ability could be utilized. So heroes rose up. Not in capes or tights, but in the form of cops, EMTs, and firefighters.


	2. A New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie's first day at the 118 is memorable to say the least.

“TAKE COVER”  
The heat of the flames coming from the inside of the downed chopper, were too much. Eddie looked down at his dead crew member and, not fully understanding how they had gotten here. Moments ago they were all alive and joking around, returning from a mission. Now one of them is dead and bullets are whizzing by him. The flames are getting closer, he has to get out. The heat was unbearable. All he can hear is his heart pumping in his ears. He bolts out of the cabin to the side of a mound of sand. He sees who is shooting at them, he takes out his rifle and lays down suppressive fire. One by one he pulls his crew from the wreckage, almost robotically. His instincts took over. He’s been trained for this. His crew is now out, but he has to go back for Greggs, he may be gone, but Eddie isn’t going to leave him behind. He makes one last trip to the chopper, the heat is too much, he’s boiling up, but he still is able to grab Greggs and drag him out. Their pinned down, fear begins to override the adrenaline he’s been running on. He pulls out his photo of Chris, smeared with his own blood, he holds it tight, wishing to be able to hold his son one more time. He hears his laugh, him calling out for him....

“Dad… Dad… Dad it’s time to wake up”

Eddie bolts upright, it was just the dream again. He’s been having it off and on ever since the crash. Well, if he was honest with himself, ever since he was presented with the silver star. No time to think about that now. He’s got much more important things to worry about. 

“C’mere you” Eddie says as he scoops Chris up into his arms. “Good morning”

“Ewe you’re all sweaty and gross” Christopher says and he playfully tries to pull away.

“Yeah I’m sorry buddy, I was having a bad dream” Eddie won’t tell him what it was about, but he knows his son can tell it was a bad one.

“You have to get ready dad, it’s your first day as a fireman, you need to go save people and be a hero” Chris says with such a proud smile on his face.

“Alright, I’ll go get ready, but you need to go get dressed as well. It’s your first day of school too.”  
Eddie says as he let’s him out of his hug to make his way to his room.

As Christopher walks out of his room to start his own early morning rituals, Eddie makes his way out of bed and into his shower. He turns on the shower and and waits for it to heat up to it’s hottest setting. Ever since the flash, Eddie has had to have it that high just to feel the warmth seep into his muscles. Anything less and it feels like he is bathing in ice. Good thing this house he moved into has a very strong hot water heater. He lets the nightmare melt away from him as his body fully wakes up, if he had more time he might do something to lessen his nerves about his first day, but he’s already running a little behind so, he finishes up and steps out of the shower.Using his ability, he heats up his body until the water beading off of him turners to steam and leaves him perfectly dry. Wrapping a towel around his waist as he shaves and styles his hair. He walks back into his bedroom and decides to just dress casually, being as he will be issued a uniform once he arrives at the station.

Once dressed he makes his way into the kitchen to find Christopher sitting at the table eating cereal. He pulls out a couple pieces of bread and toasts them in his hands while he grabs the butter and a couple of strips of bacon from the fridge. Once to toast is golden brown he butters them and plates them. As he cooks the bacon in the same manner he sits down next to Chris, who is just finishing his cereal. 

“Can I have one?” Christopher asks.

“Sure, here you go” Eddie says as he hands over a strip of crispy bacon. “You ready to start our next big adventure?”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to make some new friends, and meet my teacher. I’m going to tell everyone about how my dad is a fireman, and is going to save people” Chris beams.

“I might not even go out on a call today, it is my first day after all” Eddie says, but as he is saying it he starts thinking about how much he is looking forward to today. He never thought he’d get a job in LA, but here he is. Newest member of the LAFD house 118. He’s excited. He looks over at Chris who is smiling like usual, but this time with a hint of mischief. “ Hey, no powers at the dinner table”

“I don’t know what you're talking about,” Chris says while giggling. “And you just used yours to make breakfast”

“Yeah, sure. Just go get your bookbag and we’ll be on our way” Eddie says as he starts to clean up from breakfast.

The drive to drop off Christopher at school and then to the station was pretty uneventful, other than Eddie realizing the traffic in LA was going to take some getting used to. He had to calm himself down a bit as he was getting a bit to heated with some of the people on the road. As he pulled up the nerves kicked in again. Was he sure about this? Sure his ability made him a prime candidate as a firefighter, but is this where he should be? He pushed the doubt back and made his way into the station.

The station in itself was beautiful, bright and open. The trucks looked pristine and the living areas seemed very inviting. Nothing like the stations back in El Paso. He wandered up the stairs looking for the Captain office. When he noticed a man that was cooking at the stations, large and in his opinion almost too well furnished kitchen. Before he could say anything, the man turned around and greeted him.

“You must be Edmundo Diaz, our new recruit.”

“Yes sir, most people just call me Eddie. You must be Captain Nash” Eddie said nervously.

“Bobby, glad to have you here, let’s head into my office, got some paperwork to sign,” Nash said, leading the way to his office. “So, it says here in your file that you served as a medic in the army, two tours of combat and were awarded the silver star. Always had the calling to help others?”

“Yes sir, I’ve always had the mindset that if I can be of help, then I will be of help. To anyone, anywhere that needs it.” Eddie said with pride.

“That’s a great attitude to have, now it says here that your classification is a mental, which element do you have control over?” Bobby asked.

“Fire sir.”

“And your level of control is?” Bobby questioned.

“I can ignite anything that can burn, control flame intensity and movement, radiate heat from my body to a yet as unknown limit, sir.” Eddie stated.

“Seems like a great ability to have as a new firefighter.” Bobby said “If you’ll just sign here we can get you started”

Eddie picked up the pen and signed his hiring form. He felt a new sense of pride as he looked down at his signature. He knew his future was now with the 118. He knew that this job would be tough, but he could do it. He could rise to the call he felt deep within him. He would make Christopher proud everyday. He would prove to his family that doubted his ability to do this job and be a father wrong. 

“WELCOME TO THE 118” 

The voice was Bobby's but he had not spoken, it was in his head. As clear as his own inner voice. Bobby stretched out his hand to shake Eddie’s. He raised his hand and shook Bobby’s. It dawned on Eddie, he’s a telepath.

“THAT'S RIGHT AND TELEKINETIC”

Bobby’s voice in his head said as he saw a crisp neatly folded stack of clothes move from a shelf off to the side of the room to hover directly in front of Eddie. Eddie took them stack as Bobby began to make his way to the door.

“I’ll show you where to get changed,” Bobby said, guiding Eddie down to the locker room. 

“So a bender, and a mental? What else do we have on our team?” Eddie asked.

“I’ll let you find out as you meet them. Again welcome to the team Eddie.” Said Bobby as he let Eddie get changed.

“Thanks Cap” Eddie said as Bobby walked out.

Eddie began to change into his LAFD uniform. Getting used to the clear walls as best he could. Eddie had never been shy about his body. Even if he had, boot camp would have changed that. A hundred naked men trying to use ten shower heads in a small room really helps you get over any hang ups you might have. That being said the eyes he noticed coming from the three people Cap was talking to just outside of the locker room, made him like a piece of meat. As he tucked in his shirt Bobby walks over with two of onlookers and introduces them to him.

“Eddie Diaz I’d like to introduce you to Hen and Chimney. They are two of the members of the crew I’m placing you on. The third and final member is out there somewhere probably talking someone's ear off about how he’s going to be picked for the firefighters calendar. And yes that’s a thing.” Bobby said.

“Hi, I’m Hen, Nice to meet you. Welcome to the team.” Hen said as she shook Eddie's hand.

“Eddie, and nice to meet you too” All the nerves Eddie had dissolved in the moment he shook Hen’s hand. In fact this is the most chill he has felt all week. Eddie knew this feeling. Like he had no control over how he felt. He had been around a lot of Emos since the flash, hell his son was one. So Hen’s an Emo, good to know. “An Emo I’m guessing, my son is one, guess I can pick up on it easier.”

“Yeah, that our Hen. The living embodiment of Xanex. I’m Chim. By Xanex I mean she can calm anyone down, she can have someone who’s in the middle of an anxiety attack, be in a blissful nirvana like state, with just a look. With a touch, she can calm you so much, your heart rate slows to a crawl and can induce unconsciousness.” Chim Rambled off.

Eddie shook his hand as well, Chim’s classification was given away by that handshake. The strength of it, the way his eyes dilated while talking. Like he was seeing something in Eddie’s movements that no one else might notice. The way his nostrils flared when Eddie exhaled. Chim was feral. Chim was a Wer. 

“I’m a Mental, and I’m guessing you're a Wer.” Eddie said. Chim nodded.

“You’re pretty perceptive kid, another great attribute you’re bringing to the team.” Bobby said with a smile.

Suddenly the alarm sounds and everyone is off to the truck, Eddie included. It was a weird first call, but everyone seemed to appreciate his addition to the crew. Everyone except Buck, when they were on their way to the call Buck had questioned him on his name. Assuming like most people Eddie was short for Eduardo. Hen had mentioned the calendar again, this time he was sure was to quiet Buck’s ego down a little. Everything went well with the call, the victim would pull through. Eddie knew though that his comment on where to apply the needle bugged Buck, but he had been right and Buck would eventually admit it. He could still feel him staring him down though. Eddie really didn’t want to alienate himself from any member of his team on the first day. But it just seemed he couldn’t connect with Buck like the others. The most he got was a half hearted “Good call”. 

Later Eddie found himself needing to burn off some steam from the funk Buck had put him into, so he put on some workout gear and intended to let it out on the heavy bag. So of course as he walked up, who had to be there lifting weights but Buck. Not letting him deter him from his workout he started punching away, threw in a kick too. Buck proceeded to grab more weights, making sure to cut eyes at Eddie while doing it. A lame way of trying to establish dominance that even Chim who had just joined them took notice of with a smirk. Soon Buck pulled out his phone and started taking selfies of himself. Ok that he could use, he’d offer Buck some pointers, and maybe get on his good side.

“You’re in the wrong light man” Eddie said.

“Some of us don’t need lighting to look good,” Buck said without even looking back to Eddie.

Eddie just shrugged off Buck’s dismissal, but Chim approached him.

“Hey Eddie, what did you mean about the wrong light?” Chim asked.

“The lighting in this room is flat and blue, it makes you look soft. If you want to look lean and muscles to pop, you need warm side light. Let me show you.” Eddie says as he grabs his phone out of his gym bag. “These are the ones I sent in for the calendar.”

He shows Chim a few photos on his phone, noticing that Buck has made his way over.

“Whoa.” Chim blurts out.

“It’s kinda cheating to get pictures done by a professional photographer.” Buck says striding away.  
Eddie chuckles, “The photographer’s twelve, She’s my niece and a master of the Iphone filters”

“Seriously, do you think she would take my submission photos? I’ve been told I photograph like the asian Fabio? Chim asks.

“Yeah, I’m sure she would” Eddie says.

“I wouldn’t get his hopes up like that, no offense Chim” Buck says as he does some bicep curls. 

“None taken, Evan.” Chim says with a heat behind it.

That’s it Eddies had enough, he was trying to be nice. He needs answers. Why is Buck treating him like this. He approaches Buck.

“Hey, what’s your problem man?” Eddie asks.

Buck just stares at him for a moment and nods, like he’s deciding if he should finally say something. He stands, as if to intimidate Eddie. Sure he’s a little bit taller than Eddie, but Eddie has taken down guys bigger than Buck, and that was before the flash. Eddie isn’t scared of Buck. He just stands his ground and waits for what Buck has to say. 

“Ok, You. You’re my problem. Your comfort level, you’re not supposed to just walk in here like you’ve been here for years. It’s meant to be a getting to know you period, where you are meant to respect your elders” Buck says.

“You’re not his elder Buck.” Chim cuts in.

“Look, I uh in no way meant to be too familiar or step on anyone's toes, I know you’re going through some personal stuff right now” Says Eddie.

“What personal stuff?” Buck asks.

“I know your girlfriend just broke up with you and you’re coming to terms with that.” Eddie says.

“I’m not… She didn’t break up with me, who told you that?” Buck asks while turning his attention to Chim. Who looks like the cat that swallowed the canary.

“I’m just saying, I heard you’re a good guy, and I’m sorry you’re going through pain. But you don’t need to take it out on me, or be threatened by me. We’re on the same team.” Eddie says to Buck hoping to wear down this wall he has up.

“Why would I be threatened by you?” Buck asks.

“Exactly. There’s no need to be. We do the same thing, I’ve just done it while people are shooting at me is all.” Eddie says, done with this conversation.

“We’re not broken up!” Eddie hears Buck say as he’s walking away.

Another call comes in later, when the 118 arrive, they find a man with a grenade lodged into his leg. At first it seemed to be nonexplosive, but as Eddie and Buck are examining it closer, Eddie realizes it is a live round. The bomb squad is called but will not be there in time to save the man from bleeding out. Eddie knows this is up to him. He volunteers to try and remove the round before the man bleeds out or the round can explode. 

“I can do this Cap.” Eddie says to Bobby

“Be careful.” Bobby says and he nods to give Eddie the go ahead.

“I’m going too, Eddie’s gonna need an extra set of hands and you know if anything goes wrong, I can help with that too.” Buck says as he follows Eddie to the ambulance. “Besides, you said you wanted us to learn to work together.”

Once inside the ambulance, Eddie gets right into assessing the situation. They need to remove the round but cannot let it rotate in any way while doing so. Eddie grabs a clamp and latches on to the round, with Buck holding down the man's leg, he oh so slowly pulls the grenade out of his leg and begins to place it into a detonation box. Right as he’s about to deposit it into the box, it slips from the clamp. He looks up at Buck and to express with a look, that he messed up and that he’s sorry. He begins to throw himself onto the box to try and contain the blast from hitting Buck or the man. Buck instead grabs a hold of him and Eddie feels a wave of energy wash over him. In the time it took Eddie to blink, he’s back holding the grenade in the clamp.

“Let’s not let that happen again, ok?” Buck says Eddie. “Plan for it to slip out and have it in the box before it does.”

Eddie does as he suggests and they get the grenade in the box without it dropping this time. They wheel the man back out of the ambulance and into another,after stopping his bleeding. They walk over to Bobby, right as the Grenade blows.

“That was a close call.” Bobby says.

“Closer than you think.” Bucks says giving Bobby a knowing look. 

“Just glad you two made it out safe.I’m going to go get everybody to start packing up.” Bobby says walking away.

“What was that back there, what happened after the grenade slipped?” Eddie asked Buck.  
“I happened.” Buck said with a smirk. “I saw that shit was about to hit the fan, so I grabbed you before you could stupidly, but still somewhat heroically, throw yourself on that grenade, and jumped you back with me thirty seconds. Eddie I’m a Chrone. I can send myself or any one person I’m touching back in time up to a minute.”

“You gave us enough time to change the outcome. Without you we’d be dead. You’re a badass under pressure brother, you can have my back any day.” Eddie said flashing Buck a smile.

“Yeah, and you could have mine.” Buck said as he smiled in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love any feedback you guys can give. I have a long story planned. Hope you all enjoy it.


	3. The Earth Moved Beneath Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 3, hope you all enjoy it.

“Hey Dad, Hey Dad” Chris pulled Eddie from his thoughts as they slowly made the way to Chris’s school.

“Yeah,” Eddie replied, putting a steadying hand on his son’s back.

“Do you think dogs know they’re dogs?”

“What do you mean?” Eddie asked, wondering where this was coming from.

“You know that um I’m a person and a dog is just a dog, but do dogs just think we're bigger, less hairier, smarter dogs that walk funny?” Christopher asked in that innocent way of thinking that only a child has. Imagination not bogged down by adult worries or complications.

This was one of the things Eddie loved the most about his son. His carefreeness and his overall inquisitive nature. Just a simple question like this can easily bring a smile to Eddie’s face. It’s not because of Chris’s ability either. Sure pushing a sense of joy and happiness to anyone within ten feet may make Chris a pleasure to be around. But Eddie knew this wasn’t from that. He was just so happy that amongst all the moving and changes, with having CP and having to use crutches through most of his day, with knowing that his mom is out there somewhere not in his life but never showing that it bothers him, he still hasn’t let it dim the light that radiates from him. He was proud of Chris. He knew that this was the right decision for the both of them. That made Eddie relieved and His spirits high.

“Thank God for you kid,” Eddie said, beaming a smile at his boy. The bell rings for Chris’s school and Eddie sees all the kids begin to scramble inside. “Gotta hustle up, alright.”

“I love you dad.”

“I love you too son.” Eddie leans in to give him a hug. ”Go to school.” He waves him off to class and watches as he disappears into the building.

Eddie hops into his truck and starts the arduous task of navigating LA traffic to the 118 firehouse. He does stop to pick up some coffee, he’s in need of some caffeine after not sleeping the best last night. The nightmare came back again. It was worse this time, he had begun to singe his sheets and the burning smell was the only thing that pulled him out of it. He had hopped into the shower and turned it on cold to bring his body temp back down. Unfortunately after doing this sleep was no longer an option. He instead decided to get a head start on getting ready for the morning. Now though, he was feeling the repercussions of that decision, before he even got to work. Today was going to be a rough one.

An hour or so into the shift and there had been no calls. Bobby had assigned everybody chores to do around the station. Eddie was currently underneath the fire engine making good use of his first after school job as a mechanics assistant. Tightening bolts and making sure all of the fluid lines were sealed and working properly. Then it started.

Eddie felt them tremor suddenly, the massive truck above him creaking as it began to jostle. He immediately scooted the roller he was laying on out from under the truck. Once he was out he could see the hoses on pulleys above him in the rafters of the building swaying. They were going to come down, and if he didn’t move it would be on him. He continued to roll out of their path downward. Then all of a sudden Hen was there, Grabbing ahold of him, still on the roller dragging him away to safety. He could see the shelves holding the oxygen tanks fall over, their contents rushing out with a his. People shouting from all over the firehouse. Glass breaking from somewhere, sounded like maybe from the locker rooms. He finally stumbled up to his feet. The shaking hadn’t stopped but he was in a safe place and started assessing the situation. Everyone seemed ok. Then just as quick as it had started, the shaking stopped.

“Is everyone alright? Ok everyone we need to get the path of the trucks cleared and ready to roll out, Stock up on extra supplies, I have a feeling we’re going to need them. I want everyone geared up and ready to go in less than five!” Bobby shouted down from the loft area.

Within minutes the entire crew was out on the road ready for the inevitable call sending them where they were needed. Eddie was in the back of the fire engine with Buck frantically trying to text Christopher or any of the staff at his school. He just needed to know if he was okay. Panic had set in the moment Eddie fully realized what had happened.

“Is everything okay?” Buck asked seeing how frantic Eddie was getting.

“Yeah there’s no service, text won’t even get through.” Eddie said frustrated.

“Who are you trying to get a hold of?” Buck asked.

“My son. I’m trying to reach my son.” Eddie could see Bobby turn back to acknowledge his distress as he spoke.

“You got a kid?” Buck asked.

“Christopher, he’s seven.” Eddie said showing Buck a photo of Chris on his phone. 

“And super adorable, I love kids.” Buck confided.

“Well I love this one, I’m all he’s got, his mom’s not in the picture.” Eddie says, beginning to worry again.

“Is he at school?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sure he’s fine. After the flash happened all the schools here in LA were updated to thousands of new safety enhancements and procedures to be able to handle children with abilities they can’t control. That’s on top of all the ones they had before involving earthquakes like this and such. He’s probably safer there then anywhere else in the entire city.” Buck said, trying to ease Eddie’s worry.

Eddie knew Buck was right but it was still hard not knowing. Driving through the city didn’t help either. All the wreckage and debris everywhere. They hadn’t been in LA for a month and had already experienced their first earthquake. Was this the right decision? Moving here, of all places. No, Eddie was not going to fall into that train of thought. He needed his head on straight to do his job and be able to get back to his son. This was a good fresh start. Chris was happy, the 118 was great. Most importantly it wasn’t Texas, with all the ghosts that haunted him there.

They had arrived at a hotel, Eddie was shocked to see that it was completely leaning at an angle. The crew were being told the specifics of what the damage was by the emergency response captain, Eddie was barely listening as he stood looking at the building wondering what condition Christopher's school might be in. He was safe, he had to be and with his ability he is probably helping the other children in his class without even knowing it. Eddie refocused on what was being said, as Bobby took over once the E.R.C. had stepped away to continue informing crews what was going on.

“Okay listen up, here’s how you make it to the end of the day. You don’t worry about the things you can do nothing about, you focus on one task at a time. I can’t order you guys to go inside that building and I’m not going to judge you if you decide not to.” Bobby said with a strength and compassion that only comes from having dealt with calls like this before.

“Hen you got a kid.” Chim said.

“Yeah, and I hope that if someone whose job it was to save him had the chance, they’d do it. No matter what.” Hen rebutted. 

Buck had turned to look at Eddie, now knowing this pertained to him as well. Without any hesitation Eddie said, “Where do you want us?”

It was at that moment that a cop walked up to them and said they needed to see what was happening on the other side of the building. When they looked up they see a man pinned to a window, Chim suggested that they deploy an airbag, and Bobby made it clear that no one could get to him from outside the building but that he would have to be rescued from inside.

“Buck, what would you say, that the eleventh floor?” Eddie asked Buck formulating a plan.

“I would. Bet we could take the ladder to the fourth floor and cut the distance in half.” 

“Alright,” Bobby could see what they were planning.”I’m going to link everybody up so we can stay in constant communication.” Bobby said as he gently touched his temple.

“Link up?” Eddie asked Buck under his breath.

“Yeah, Bobby is going to connect our minds with his ability, it’s like using coms but it’s in your head. As long as you don’t lose consciousness or Bobby for that matter, your mind will stay connected to all of ours until Bobby disconnects us. Hope you don’t have anything on your mind you don’t mind sharing.” Buck informed.

“Uh, isn’t that kinda an invasion of privacy?”

“It’s not like we can go routing around in that head of yours, just whatever you are thinking in that moment, we can hear as well, and vise versa.” Buck said, giving a playful tap to Eddie's head.

{ “Ok is everybody connected?” } Eddie could hear Bobby’s voice as clear as if he was standing next to him. But his mouth hadn’t moved.

{ “You're listening to the smooth sounds of DJ Chimney Han.” }

{ “Oh god not with this again, Hen Here.” }

{ “All good here Cap.”}

{ “Eddie are you with us?” }

Eddie had heard all of his crew in his head, it was alarming to say the least.

“Yeah I’m here.” Eddie said

{ “Just think you answer Eddie, we’ll hear you.” } Eddie heard the Cap say in his mind.

{ “Yeah I can hear all of you.” }

{ “I know it’s weird at first, but it really comes in handy on big calls like this where we are all spread out all over the place. You’ll get used to it.” } Eddie could hear Buck think.

{ “Okay let get to it then.” } Bobby thought and everyone went about what they were supposed to do.

“Come on let’s get the ladder up to the window so we can get in there.” Buck said tugging at Eddie as he shuffled past him.

They moved the ladder from the truck up to the stairwell window on the fourth floor. Breaking the glass once they got there to enter. Eddie could tell this was gonna be a tough climb. The stairs were uneven and at a weird angle. Pieces of the structure were missing in areas, obviously broken off during the initial quake. They were going to have to tie off to each other, Eddie would go first being slightly smaller and more nimble. He would be able to gauge the best steps to take up this path. Buck would follow behind and sadly be the pack mule bringing up the equipment. He would also be the better anchor in case Eddie lost his footing and began to fall. 

“Ready to tie the know with me?” Buck asked Eddie.

“Huh, what…?” Eddie stammered.

“Just kidding Eddie, just making a joke. But seriously you ready to tie us together with the line.” 

“Oh, yeah. Feed it through to me and I’ll tie myself off.”

They tied themselves together and started ascending the stairs, little by little making their way up to the eleventh floor. They opened the door leading into the eleventh floor hallway. They started down it. Knocking on each door asking if anyone was inside. Finally they came to a door and got a response. The people inside a man and a woman shouted back for help. Using the tilt of the building for leverage Eddie kicked in the door, to find the woman using the underside on the rooms bar to brace herself from falling down towards the windows. The man was the one they had seen from the street. They now could see that most of the furniture in the room was pinning the man to the glass window. They needed to move fast, the glass could break at any moment with that much pressure pushing down on it. 

“Okay mam, I’m coming to you.” Buck said to the woman.

“No offence, but I don’t think this is one of those times where women and children need to go first.” The man said.

“Did you just say no offence? Everything about you is offensive.” The woman replied.

“First Date?” Buck asked.  
“Yeah god he wishes, amazing that sweaty fat pig is married with five kids, didn’t stop him from asking me to shower with him.” The woman said.

“Have you not watched the news at all over the past year?” Buck asked. Feeding line for Eddie to use as he made his way down the slope of the room towards the man.

“Seriously, catch up with the times.” Eddie added.

“Alright, so I’m a dinosaur, a forgotten relic of a forgotten age. For god’s sake just get me the hell out of here.” The man shouted. 

I’m going to throw you a rope, I'm going to need you to secure it to yourself.” Buck said, throwing some rope to the woman. 

As the woman began to tie the rope around her waist, a low steady groan of wood began to sound. Eddie looked around trying to figure out where it was coming from. The furniture was shifting.

“DON’T MOVE!” Eddie shouted at the man. “Don’t breathe.” 

The situation was quickly heading towards disaster. At any moment the glass could break sending the man plummeting to the street below. Eddie needed to find a way to secure the man as well, but with the couch pinning him, Eddie was coming up short on how to do it. Eddie begins to move some of the smaller items away from the couch. Then he hears it. The unmistakable sound of glass beginning to crack.

“Hurry, it’s cracking.” the man says.

“Okay, I’m going to come around to you sir, you need to stay perfectly still. Don’t even talk.” Eddie says to the man.

“Oh god, please don’t let this be the end.” The man pleads.

“I’m going to tie this line around you, and we’re going to get you away from this glass.” Eddie says as he edges closer to the man, line in hand. The glass spider webbed more and more due to the pressure.

Suddenly the room starts shaking again, the glass breaking even quicker with it. The woman is trying to pull herself up to Buck. Buck anchors the woman and Eddie in place the best he can.

“Woah woah whoa, aftershock, aftershock!” Buck yells.

“NO!” Eddie cries as he sees the glass give way and the man fall from the window.  
He looks back to Buck, He has his eyes closed and a contorted look on his face. He shakes his head no, then again, and again. He does this several times. It dawns on Eddie what Buck is doing. He’s trying to jump back and fix this. Moments go by and he is still there, eyes closed, face clenched. He finally looks up, he has a defeated look on his face.

“I couldn’t do it Eddie. Each time I jumped back it still happened, or he took you with him. Or both you and her. No matter how I tried, he always fell.” Buck said with anguish in his voice.

“You tried, that’s what matters. It was just a shitty situation. You might not have been able to save him, but you can still save her.” Eddie says nodding to the woman.

Buck begins to pull on the rope, inch by inch getting the woman closer to him. He eventually can grab her hand and hauls her up towards the door. Eddie starts to climb the rope up to the doorway as well. With the trio out of the room and in the hall, The woman introduces herself as Ali. Now they begin the task of trying to get her back out of the building. 

They make it back to the stairwell and descend a couple of floors before they realize, The last two floors of the evacuation are impassable. Deciding that they will have to find another out of the building, the head back up the way they came.

{ “All 118 members, update!” }

{ “Buckley and Diaz here,all good. We have a survivor in okay condition. Lost one out the window. Assumed dead. Currently trying to find an alternate route out of the building.” }

{ “Chim here, still searching for survivors, I can smell some below us Cap, one is definitely Hen, I can’t hear anything with all the sounds from outside, but she’s down there. But Cap I do smell blood. Not certain if it’s hers or someone else's. It’s to faint.” }

{ “Hen can you hear me? It’s Bobby. We just need to know if you are okay.” }

{ “Bobby what happened, where’s Hen?” }

{ “Buck, during the aftershock, she fell to the level below us. Ceiling above us collapsed and is blocking us from getting down to her this way. We’re going to have to go around to get to her.” }

{ “Why isn’t she responding?” } Eddie thought.

{ She most likely got knocked out during the fall. Which severed the link from the rest of us. But everyone up here is experiencing a heightened level of calm so she must be ok, her ability is still working. She’s on the move though, she must have realized like we did, she can’t get back out the way she went in. Everyone just keep focused on the tasks in front of them. Chim meet back up with me outside, Buck, Eddie, continue to find a way back out of the building. Help anyone you can along the way.” }

So that’s what they did. They kept moving through the building. Ali, keeping up with them. They made it to the end of the hallway on the fourteenth floor. Someone must have heard them, because someone started shouting from inside a room to their left. They busted the door open to find this room in even worse shape than the one Ali was in. Being a higher floor, made the tilt in this room even more steep. Eddie, still tied to Buck entered the room and found the man calling for help. Eddie could see the man was severely injured. 

“Looks like we have a spinal injury, no response from his lower extremities, and judging by the smell, I think he’s lost bowel control.” Eddie listed off what he could assess was wrong by checking out the man. 

“Coming in.” Buck said as he slid down the slope into the room. “We’ve gotta get him out of here quickly. But I don’t see anything we can use as a backboard.” 

“Use the Ironing board, it’s there, under the side tables next to the wall.” Ali said.

“I don’t see it, wait there it is.” says Buck as he grabs the board and brings it back to Eddie. “Wait, how could you see it. It was buried under all that crap, and you haven't even poked your head in the door yet.”

“It’s what I do, or what I can do, I mean. My ability. I can find what’s needed most at any given time. I just see what it is and where it is in my mind. It’s one of the weaker bender abilities.” Ali replied.

“Seems pretty handy, must never lose your keys huh?” Eddie says while beginning to strap the man to the makeshift backboard. 

“Ha, not once since the flash.”

Eddie went to the door and reached back to pull the man out of the room. The angle made this tough, he strained hard noticing he was making the doorway increasingly warm. 

{ “Control it Eddie.” } Eddie thought to himself.

{ “Control what?” } Buck said in Eddie's mind. 

{ “Oh shit, forgot you could hear that. I am just heating up because of the exertion. Don’t need to start a fire up here, it’d make this whole thing worse.” }

{ “Ah, that explains it. You never shared what your ability was, and all day I kept noticing when you got close to me how hot you were… Shit that came out wrong.” }

Eddie laughed, taking even himself off guard.

{ “So you think I’m hot Buck?” }

{ “Oh god, please shut up you know what I meant.” }

{ “As much fun as is it hearing you two flirt, can you both shut up. You’re distracting me from picking up Hen’s scent.” } They had both heard Chim gripe in their heads.

“He’s never gonna let me live that one down.” Buck groaned.

“We need to keep moving.” Eddie said as they both lifted the man on the backboard and started making their way down the hall. 

Once at the end of the hall the group came to the realization that the only way down would be to use the elevator shaft to descend the floors. They pried open the doors to the shaft, and looked down. It would be difficult, especially with the injured man on the backboard, but it had to be done. They tied off all the ropes they needed and harnessed up everyone as best they could, and started to make their way down. It was slow going but they eventually reached the ground floor. As they opened the elevator doors, above them they could hear the creaking of metal. They needed to move. The brakes holding up the elevator were about to give way. Eddie stepped onto the ground floor and pulled Ali along with him. Once he had her out he reached for the man on the backboard. Buck lowered him down enough for Eddie to be able to guide in onto the floor outside of the shaft.

“Okay, now it’s your turn.” Eddie said to Buck. Right as the brakes finally gave out.

Sparks were flying as the elevator came borrowing down the shaft right at Buck. At the last possible moment Buck Kicked off the wall he was repelling down. Getting just enough momentum in his swing to land just outside of the shaft as the elevator car careened past him. He stood there a little too cocky for Eddies liking, like nothing even happened. Smirk on his face, obviously noting the worry on Eddies. 

{ “You could have spared the theatrics, jerk.” } Eddie said to Buck through the link.

{ “Awe come on that was awesome. Don’t tell me that wasn’t impressive.” }

{ “More like reckless.” } Just as Eddie thought this a flash of fire shot up and out of the shaft from the crash below. 

Without thinking Eddie threw his hands up and stopped the flames before they incinerated Buck who was still standing at the shaft opening. Eddie moved his hands as if he were squeezing something large down between them. Buck turned to see what Eddie was doing, shock written all over his face. Once Eddie had collected all the fire into a large ball, he kept pressing it down smaller and smaller until eventually if puffed out. Buck just grabbed Eddie into a hug. 

“Thanks, you just saved my ass.” Buck said into his ear, still hugging him.

Something inside Eddie shifted. His stomach was knotted all of a sudden. What was up with him. He could feel his body heat rising. Like a fire in his core was raging. The sweat on his brow and back of his neck steamed away. Buck let go of him quickly. Like you would if you grabbed a hot pan on a stove. Buck gave him this questioning look. But just as quickly as it came on, it went away.

“What was that? You were hot to the touch.” Buck asked.

“Honestly I don’t know, maybe it was from exerting myself to save your ass.” Eddie said jokingly trying to get Buck to drop it. 

“If you say so hotshot.” Buck quipped. “Let’s get these two out of here and out to safety.”

“Lead the way, Buckeroo.” Eddie said deciding to use the nickname he heard Hen and Chim call Buck. If he was gonna be nicknamed by Buck, he was going to turn it right around back on him.

Getting out of the hotel was no problem at this point.The worst of it was behind them. Eddie and Buck carried the man to awaiting doctors and nurses at the med tent. Ali expressed her gratitude to both of them as she too was seen by medical to get checked out. 

“Now let’s get down to the garage and help get Hen out from under this building.” Buck said as he jogged off towards the parking area.

Eddie looked back down at his phone still seeing no response from Christopher, or even any indication of signal and let out a huff. “Come on kid, just let me know you’re okay.”

Eddie tucked his phone back in his pocket and followed behind Buck. Once they were down in the parking structure, they could see Chim lifting heavy rocks and debri out of the way. Eddie figured that Chim being a wer allowed for this extra show of strength. Bobby was also using his ability to get Hen out. His hand reached forward pulling a truck that was blocking the path out of their way. The strain of moving something so heavy with his telekinesis showing on his face. When they got to the ruble Eddie could see a problem they were going to have. There in the middle of Hen’s way out was a steel beam blocking the ruble from being able to be moved by Bobby or Chim. It wasn't a load bearing, but it was wedged in,in a way that it couldn’t be moved.

“Cap this beam is what’s holding you up. I can handle it but you and chim are gonna need to step back a bit.” Eddie called out.

“Alright, Chim back up, be ready to get back in there once Eddie says so. Go ahead son.” Bobby nodded to Eddie.

Eddie discarded his gear he was wearing and removed his shirt. He stepped up to the beam and placed his hand on it. Eddie let loose all of the control he always has to keep in check. His body began heating up. Waves of heat began to radiate off of him, causing Bobby, Buck and Chim to step further back. The spot on the beam where his hand was placed began glowing red, then yellow, then white. It spread down the length of the beam, till the whole beam was glowing so brite white that the others had to turn away or shield their eyes. Then suddenly under Eddie's touch he could feel the solidness of the beam give way. It began to liquify. Soon the beam was a puddle of molten metal on the ground. Now he had to draw the heat back. He let the flow of warmth coming from the puddle flow back into himself. The best Eddie could describe the feeling is if your arm was asleep and the tingly sensation of it waking back up was creeping down your arm until the feeling of normal had returned. The metal was solid once more. Now in the shape of a puddle on the ground. Eddie stepped back out of the way to regain himself and let Bobby and Chim get back to removing the ruble.

“Does it hurt?” Buck’s question came out of nowhere. “Like, touching things that are that hot, or fire in general.”

“No, can’t feel it at all, I feel the heat coming out of me, but externally, heat and flames don’t hurt me. That’s why I have to be careful. It may not hurt me, but being numb to it can make me not notice what may be hurting others around me. Every ability has a downside whether you notice it or not. I just want to do as much good with this ability as I can.”

“Tell me about it. One day I’ll tell you about my downside. But for now let’s get Hen out.” Buck said as they joined Bobby and Chim.

The men of the 118 lifted, pulled and moved all that they could until a path was cleared. Without warning a little dog comes running out of the debris, and then a euphoric sense of calm washed over Eddie. All the worries about Christopher, the need to keep the fire within pushed down faded away. He knew Hen was ok. He could feel her presence. Then there she was, crawling out with a girl cradled in her arms. Looking so relaxed, it was almost eerie among their surroundings. The group all rushed over to help Hen to her feet. She smiled and embraced the all in a hug. She then saw Eddie.

“Where the hell is his shirt?” She asked looking around the group. Everyone began to chuckle. Even Eddie. 

“Long story, let’s just say it got a little toasty in here.” Chim replied in true Chim form.  
They finally were all safe and out of the building. They had regrouped out by the fire engine when the unmistakable sound of a phone ringing came from Eddie’s pocket. He quickly yanked it out of his pocket, and saw that it was coming from Chris’s school. Eddie ducked away to answer the phone.

“Hello.” Eddie answered.

“Is this Mr. Diaz?” The voice on the other end asked.

“Yes, this is Eddie Diaz, is Christopher okay?” Eddie asked slightly panicked. 

“Yes, yes, he is totally fine. He handled the earthquake like a champ. Actually he has been a godsend today. I’m just calling to touch base with you and see if you were on your way. We’re aware that you are a LAFD firefighter and have probably had a very busy day. But we will be needing to close soon to get to our own families.” The man said cordially.

“I’m finishing up here now and I’ll be on my way to pick him up shortly.” Eddie told the man.

“Ok well we’ll be here waiting. See you soon.” The man said hanging up.

“That your kid?” Buck asked, coming up behind Eddie. 

“Yeah, well it was his school. They’re waiting for me to come pick him up.”

“You mind if I come with you, I’d love to meet the amazing son of the guy that saved my ass today. I’ll even drive that way you can ride in the back with him and hold him. I’m pretty certain that’s all you feel like doing right now.” Buck asked.

“How did you guess that?” Eddie looked at him suspiciously.

{ “We’re still linked, and that’s all you can think about doing.” }

“Don’t worry Bobby should be disconnecting us any minute now.” Buck let him know. “But the offer still stands.”

“Yeah, sure but we have to hurry.I don’t want to have to wait any longer than need be.” Eddie said.

The crew packed the engine back up and headed back to the firehouse. Eddie’s leg was bouncing with anticipation the whole way. Once they were back, and all the equipment was stored away. Eddie didn’t shower or anything, he just grabbed his belongings and made his way out to Buck’s jeep. Buck was already out standing by his Jeep waiting for him. 

“Just tell me where we’re headed.” Buck said as he turned on the ignition and peeled out of the parking lot.

“Thanks again for doing this, I honestly don’t even know if I could have driven, with as amped up as I’m feeling right now.” Eddie confessed. “It means a lot that you’d be willing to do this.”

“No problem man, besides I finally get to meet this awesome kid of yours.”

The rest of the trip to the school went by fast. Before Eddie knew it he was hopping out of Buck’s Jeep and running into the school. There he was, his whole world. Wrapped up in a small seven year old frame. He scooped up Christopher, and spun him around soaking in all the happiness Christopher had to offer. Which was not a small amount by any means. He thanked the teacher for staying late with him, and walked Christopher out to the Jeep. Buck was standing there leaning on it, just waiting with a bright smile. Eddie may be wrong but it looked like Buck’s eyes were a little moist. 

“Christopher, I’d like you to meet one of the firefighters I work with at the 118. This is Buck.”  
Eddie introduced the two. “Buck this little handful in Christopher.”

“Hi Christopher, It’s nice to finally meet you. So you’re the one who keeps this old man in check.” Buck joked. 

“Yeah, that would be me.” Chris giggled back.

“Hey I’m not old, you guys trying to gang up on me?” Eddie said in mock offence.

“No dad, it’s a joke.” Chris said fake whispering to Eddie. “Is your name really Buck?”

“It’s actually Evan Buckley but all my friends call me Buck. I’m hoping we’ll be friends too.”

“I like Buck, it’s a good name.” Christopher said. “Just help my dad stay safe and we can definitely be friends.”

“Deal.” Buck says reaching out to shake Christopher’s hand. 

Eddie loads Christopher up in Buck’s Jeep. He sits in the back and holds him as Christopher starts telling him every little thing that happened in school today, And he honestly couldn’t be happier. Judging by the huge smile he sees on Buck’s face in the review mirror, Neither could he. Eddie mouths the words thank you to Buck through the mirror once more, and Buck just smiles and nods as they drive off heading to the Diaz home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know your thoughts. I'm not Bobby, I'm not a mind reader. Ha ha. But seriously your comments keep me inspired.


End file.
